Ship Offered as Quarters for County Homeless

A rusting, barnacle-encrusted World War II-era ship is available as a unique home for the homeless of Los Angeles County, Supervisor Deane Dana announced Tuesday.

Dana said a Sacramento company has offered to sell, lease or operate a 328-foot barge--big enough for 400 people--if the county can find a place to anchor or berth it. City and county officials said that would not be easy.

In disclosing the offer, Dana said the ship, a former Navy vessel fitted with sleeping quarters and other living facilities, has been occupied most recently by cannery workers in Alaska. An official of Pacific Management Consultants, which has an option on the ship, said the vessel is docked in Puget Sound in Washington and has been in mothballs for about three years.

“This definitely needs to be explored, and the price is sure right,” Dana told his colleagues, who will consider the proposal next week. Support among other supervisors was uncertain on Tuesday.

Dana’s idea was greeted with a blend of humor and resentment in a sampling of reaction from the homeless community.

“Why don’t they train us to become astronauts and put us out on space shuttles? “ asked Darrel Heard, 33.

“Out of sight, out of mind,” said Vietnam veteran Emmanuel McCarey. “It all comes back to the same thing; the situation is homelessness and we need jobs. Jobs are what will take us out of homelessness.”

The ship proposal occurs as local officials are seeking new ways to deal with a homeless population that continues to swell as the number of available beds to accommodate it shrinks. Last week, a city-sponsored “urban campground” opened on South Santa Fe Avenue to provide temporary emergency shelter to about 600 people.

Referring to the campground, Dana said that when it closes in two months, Mayor Tom Bradley will be hard pressed to find alternative sources of beds for the homeless. In the city of Los Angeles, about 1,000 of an estimated 11,000 homeless people are believed to be permanently without shelter.

‘There is no chance of building additional Skid Row hotels; this (ship) needs to be looked at,” Dana said.

Bradley, according to a spokeswoman, finds the ship idea an “interesting” one that “the county ought to pursue.” Deputy Mayor Grace Davis met with county homeless officials Tuesday about the proposal and said later that she had a variety of concerns.

“We don’t know if there are enough resources in the San Pedro-Wilmington area for so many people,” said Davis, Bradley’s homeless coordinator.

The aging hulk’s engine has been removed, and the ship would have to be towed to a mooring site, said Jim Kinkade, treasurer of Pacific Management Consultants. A letter outlining the proposal said the ship could be modified to accommodate shops, work areas, a barber shop, dental suite, medical dispensary and classrooms. Kinkade added that if the county desires it, the ship’s bed capacity could be increased to 600.

“Los Angeles has indicated a great desire of obtaining it, but we can’t find moorage for it right now,” Kinkade said. “They certainly have a crying need for something of this nature.”

Owner’s Options

Kinkade said the asking price for the barge is $650,000, “as is” and “where is,” meaning that the county would have to have the ship towed from Washington. The owner also would consider towing the vessel to Los Angeles and leasing it to the county for five years for $909,900.

Another option Dana wants explored is the owner’s offer to furnish and operate the vessel, providing a minimum of 400 beds a night at a rate of $3.92 per bed. Dana deputy Mary Lee Gray said the ship could save the county money because emergency vouchers for Skid Row accommodations cost $8 to $16.

Bill Hegland of Pacific Management said that other cities, including San Francisco, San Diego and New Orleans, have been approached about the ship, but that there have been no takers.

Dana said he would push the City of Los Angeles to provide a mooring site in San Pedro, adding, “Long Beach has pretty well solved its homeless problem by providing voucher hotels. . . . The obligation is with the City of L.A. because Wilmington (near San Pedro) is where the homeless are still sleeping in the yards in the area.”

Davis said she has asked the Port of Los Angeles to scout around for space to accommodate the ship and expects a response later this week. Davis added that officials from Long Beach and the Long Beach Naval Shipyard have determined that they do not have space for the ship.

‘A One-Time Thing’

Dana said he would view the ship as “just another voucher hotel . . . a one-time thing.”

Donna Dunn, the county’s homeless coordinator, said she is unaware of any other community using a ship for homeless people. Dunn said that besides mooring, key questions involving such things as sewage disposal, utilities and transportation would need to be answered before the idea could be implemented.

Times staff writer Penelope McMillan contributed to this article.